Telephone



(No Model.)

' Gr. R. SHEPHERD.

Paltente'd'OotlG, 1883.`

TELEPHONE.

Witnesses.

N Puma. musulmana, wm..

UNiTED, STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDGAR SIMONDS, OF CANTON, CONNECTICUT.

TELEPHONE.'

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 286,737, dated October16, 1883.

Application filed March 24, 1881. (No model.)

To` all. whom it may con/cern.,-

Be it known that I, GEORGE R. SHEPHERD, of Hartford, in the county ofHartford and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Telephones, of which the followingl is adescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, where-Figure l is a side view, partly in central vertical section, of anapparatus embodying my said improvement. Fig. 2 is Va view of anapparatus, substantially the same as represented in Fig. l, applied to apersons ears. The flexible tubes are bent so that the bottom Or under`side ot' the telephone proper is turned toiward the observer. Fig. 3 isa view of the telephone represented in Fig. 2 in section on the plane xx. The telephone shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is modified somewhat from thetelephone shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view, in cross-section,on the plane sv of one of the ear-pads. r

My improvement is an attachment for any of the common forms oftelephone, particu- .larly useful where a telephone is located in anoisy room, or at the end of along line, where the sound-producingimpulse becomes weak, or where the users hearing is slightly defective.The telephone itself-by which I mean that part of telephonie apparatuswhich receives and communicates to the listener the sounds transmittedto it-forms nO part of my invention. y

The invention consists, speaking generally, of the combination of atelephone, a soundgathering cap suitably attached to the telephone, anda bifurcated tube leading therei'rom for conveying the sounds to bothears when those bifurcated` tubes are so joined and connected that theymay be grasped and adj usted tothe listeners ears by the use of only onehand.

The invention further consists in details for carrying out this idea.

The letter a denotes the body of a telephone, b the vibrating diaphragmwhich reproduces the transmitted sounds, and c an end plate whichsecures the diaphragm in place.

The letter d denotes a cap which may be attached to the periphery of theend plate, c, by spring-pressure, by screwing thereon, by clamps, or inany other convenient manner.

The means intended to be represented in the drawings is an elasticlining of soft rubber y,within the cap d. This cap d is perforatedaxially for the passage of the tube e, which runs down almost to contactwith the diaphragm b. Tube c is eXteriorly screw-threaded and providedwith the nuts f f, by means of which the position of the tube withreference to the diaphragm maybe adjusted to a nicety. At the upper endthis tube e bifurcates, giving one tube for each ear.

The apparatus will work reasonably well if the two branching tubes arestiff or rigid, there being in such case a pivotal joint at the point ofbifurcation, and a suitable connection between the two branches,enabling them to be handled and adjusted to the ears by one hand of theuser; but it is better that a part, f, of each of these tubes bei'exible, obviating` the use of a pivot-joint at the point ofbifurcation, and allowing the tubes to bend, and thereby adaptthemselves to different posi tions more readily. The upper part ofthetwo branching tubes maybe of hard rubber or metal. The two tubes areconnected by spring g, which acts in the capacity of a pivot as well asa spring, tending to close the tubes together. A separatepivot-connection may be used, but I prefer the spring, serving bothpurposes. If the two tubes be grasped in one hand, at about the heightA, and pressed together, the ends of the tubes will move apart, asrepresented in Fig. 2, and the tubes may be applied to both ears by onehand of the user. The ends of thetubes, which come in contact with theears, are furnished with pads h of suitable material-soft rubber, forinstance-and are peripherally iluted by iiutes h', to permit access ofthe exterior air.

In Fig. 3 (and Fig. 2 is a different view of same) I show the tube emade integral with the end plate of the telephone.

I claim as my improvement- The combination ofthe telephone, thesoundgathering cap suitably attached thereto, the bifurcated tube, andthe pivotal connection joining the bifurcations, all substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose set forth.

l GEORGE R. SHEPHERD.

Witnesses: g W. E. SIMONDs, GHARLEs L. BURDErr.

` GEORGE R. SHEPHERD, OF HARTFORD, AssIGNOR OF ONE-HALF To WILLIAM/ IOO

